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Covered bridge in Guelph country, with significant research aspects and substantive research fa- cilities including Innova- tion Park." Milne thinks the unique thing about Hamilton is the greater preponderance of pri- vate family businesses, all within the envelope of health care and education. "The community is moving towards information/knowledge with health care and education leading the way." In the middle of the region, you will find the lawyers of Lon- don. Iain Sneddon, one of the managing partners at local firm Cohen Highley, says London's position is such that it is treated like the Toronto of southwestern Ontario. "Small practices use our expertise. Just as the larger firms in Toronto might capture work up to Kitchener/Waterloo, London is far enough away from Toronto to capture the work from the southwestern realms. The work in our Sarnia office is almost all referral based." As you move down towards Windsor, you start finding a more international presence exploiting cross-border opportu- nities. Greg Monforton, while working in his personal injury boutique Greg Monforton and Partners, frequently sees the ef- fect of the proximity of the border. "In personal injury work, we often see Americans injured in Ontario and Canadians injured in Michigan." Monforton has also observed that the number of lawyers practising immigration law has increased greatly in the last five years and that capital is flowing more freely between countries as corporate matters become transna- tional and international. Miller Canfield is an American firm that in 2002, combined with Wilson Walker Hochberg Slopen LLP, the largest firm in Windsor, to become Windsor and Metro Detroit's largest law firm. Its Canadian law group services organizations seeking to invest and establish operations in Canada. It has offices across America, in Poland, and recently started up in Toronto. Siskinds LLP, which also has offices in London, Toronto, and Quebec, maintains its Windsor office primarily to handle im- migration going both ways over the border. "Many clients are commercial-based and we are arranging workers for their busi- nesses," says partner Catherine Bruni. "From here we can service most of the province. You don't need to be where the work is." Monforton agrees. "With the increased role of technology, it's not as important in any field to be as Toronto-centric." And you don't have to be Johnny-on-the-spot in Windsor to get all the cross-border work either. Doherty of Gowlings in Waterloo says one of the strongest trends he has seen in the last 10 or 15 years is the increase in cross-border work. "This naturally re- flects the business reality. Southwestern Ontario is a great place to do business. There are a lot of connections." The Right Law Firm Dedicated to your success Referrals accepted from Lawyers and Law Firms Personal Legal Services Family Law, Insurance Defence, Personal Injury, Labour & Employment Law, Pension Litigation, Will & Estate Planning Business Banking and Financial Recovery Banking Litigation, Bankruptcy & Insolvency Law, Corporate-Commercial Litigation, Regulatory Offences, Tax Litigation Real Property Legal Services Commercial & Residential Tenancy Law, Condominium Law, Construction Law, Mobile Home and Land Lease Community Law, Expropriation Law, Municipal Law, Native Law, Tax Appeals, Real Estate, Paralegal Services Regulatory Affairs, Boards and Tribunals Administrative Law, Class Action Suits, Energy Regulation, Environmental Regulation, Farm Regulation, Human Rights Code Proceedings One London Place 255 Queens Ave., 11th Flr. LONDON, ON N6A 5R8 Tel. (519) 672-9330 - Fax. (519) 672-5960 Website: www.cohenhighley.com Our experienced team provides responsive service and effective solutions. www. C ANADIAN Law ye rmag.com FEBRU AR Y 2009 35 ntitled-6 1 1/19/09 3:43:25 PM ohenHighley_CL_Feb_09.indd 1 1/20/09 3:17:48 PM